


Always Be Afraid

by tigereyes45



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Angst, Blinky dies, Gen, it was time for Blinky to be axed, just this once, listen we get a lot of angst where aaarrrgghh!!! dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25894126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigereyes45/pseuds/tigereyes45
Summary: For once Jim feels too much anger to listen to Blinky's rules.
Relationships: Blinkous "Blinky" Galadrigal & Jim Lake Jr.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	Always Be Afraid

Jim's right leg gives out from underneath him as one of Gunmar's soldiers hold him down. As his heart breaks he pushes against the giant, armored hands. Every instinct screams to fight! To rise in one giant push of adrenaline and kill the hulking beast holding him down. Toby cries out from somewhere to his right. Aaarrrgghh!!! crying alongside him. Jim doesn't look to them. He can't force his tired eyes to look away from the horrific sight in front of him. Stale wind blows through the cavern. It mocks the sounds of Aaarrrgghh!!!'s roars.

Heart-wrenching Jim tries to push against the troll again. Toby's sobs are replaced by him shouting. The words are incoherent. Blood boils in his face, racing past his eardrums towards his head. Gunmar's soldier pushes him back down again. This time, onto both of his knees. There's a sickening crack as his armor scraps the stone ground. Sparks fly up from the contact.

"Stop!" Desperately his voice cracks as he screams.

"Do you hear that, Galadrigal? The trollhunter cries for you." Gunmar mockingly lowers him back down. Releasing his grip around Blinky's throat just to let him talk. He knows that there's no point to it. As Blinky tries to speak nothing but guttural, gurgling sounds escape. Barely able to walk he steps forward, smiling as he realizing all his words will fail him. For once Blinkous is silent, but it isn't by choice. Accepting fate he looks down at his hands. Skin turns to stone at a crawl. With a deep breath that sounds like it's choking him, Blinky closes his eyes.

Peace seemingly washes over him as the pain in Jim's heart outdoes every other time he has ever felt pain in his life. Pride swells in his eyes as Blinky looks back up. The darkness closes in as the smartest troll Jim's ever known chooses his dying pose. Embracing the role he had taken up for Jim, Blinky stares at him. Mouthing words, that can't be heard. Jim knows them. They're the same ones his mother tells him anytime he leaves the house.

"Blinky!"

Slowly, being restrained by his dying body, Blinky holds two hands out towards Jim. Palms up in the air, as if he were taking his hands, within his own. The bottom pair move in another direction. Jim's tired eyes follow them to see Aaarrrgghh!!!'s mess of a face. His eyes were steadying growing black as tears roll down his cheeks. Toby was pressed against his chest, a sword against his throat. If either moved that would be it for him. Imprisoned not because he was weak, but because he cares to much to stop the madness unfolding before them. Blinky's arms were spaced, just wide enough to hold his head. Even as it comes to his death he was still planning for whatever they might need. Anything just to comfort them.

Blinky's eyes are the last thing to go. Light clings to the brown irises as dilated pupils betray the fear within him. Aaarrrgghh!!! gives out a devastating, mournful roar. The cavern shakes from the sheer might behind that scream. Blinky's statue remains unmoved. Gunmar's twisted laugh is a knife in Jim's ribcage. Breathing is difficult for him. With every slow breath Jim's vision turns red. Time slows. Nothing matters. Nothing but silencing Gunmar's big fat mouth. The darkness that had made this place a home almost felt comforting as he gives into rage. Strickler's striking green eyes dare to meet his own. Jim attempts to lunge at the changeling. He did nothing as Gunmar killed Blinky. Fucking coward didn't even try.

Somehow Jim slips out from under the large troll that had him pinned. Maybe it was due to his newfound rage. Perhaps Gunmar told the troll to let him go. Whatever the reason he was free. Jim darts across the short five feet of space. Lunging at Strickler, Jim throws his hands to the right side of his body. At the last second, he summons his eclipse. Swinging the blade's edge at Strickler's neck. Eclipse cuts against his chin, as Strickler throws his head back. The line is straight till it gets an inch in. At which point the sword goes down with his body. Making the cut curve and jagged down his chin and towards his neck.

As soon as his feet his the ground Jim spins around. Eclipse strikes out before he's down turning. His blade is met my Gunmar's. Metal on metal sings as they push. Growling, Gunmar looks down at Jim. Hatred fills him. It pumps adrenaline through his veins, replacing the fear that Blinky had painstakingly instilled into him. The anger feels like strength. There's no winning a constest of strength against Gunmar. Jim would have to try something else. His arms drop the sword as he front flips over Gunmar's blade.

Hands at his side, the daggers fly out to meet his palms. Jim holds them at the ready. Bracing his legs for the crouch he's going to land in. Gunmar assumed his next move. Swinging at his legs he misses. Barely. Jim doesn't focus on how lucky he is. Instead he continues to fight. With a ferocity that used to be foreign to him Jim swings the eclipse blade. Gunmar easily blocks it. Jim follows that attack with another, and another. Unleashing a barrage of attacks against the ancient troll Jim's arms scream out. Pain starts to crawl through his fingers like medicine through an IV solution. It's a drip at first. Slow, but occasionally landing in an annoying spot. The first was his right pinky's tip. Next right in the middle of the palm of his left hand. Between his shoulder blades as Gunmar pushes him back. Every swing pushes him. Seconds drag on as that edge teases him. It's probably a deeper fall then the forge's. If he fell would that be it? Could even the armor protect him from such a height?

Probably not, but for once Jim's not afraid.

Gunmar would win this fight. Even with the power of the eclipse blade Jim wasn't skilled enough for this fight. Gunmar had height, strength, and years on him. This monster's ability with a blade had been clear from their first fight. Every strength of his was another weakness for Jim. Another reason he couldn't win. Cause upon cause that led to Blinky's death. Memories flood his mind like a river finally tearing through a dam.

'You must answer the call, Master Jim,' but he had answered. Jim answered every call ever given. He followed the rules. Fighting tooth and nail to survive, all while being afraid. Most nights he was so terrified sleep would have eluded him if not for the shear amount of exhaustion the job piled onto him. School, troll hunting, and his mother. Somehow he had found a way to make it all work. Not perfectly. That was near impossible. Most nights something was coming up short due to his attention being on another. There was always a problem. Goblins, gnomes, changelings! One after another he rose up. Jim even surprised himself most nights.

Yet it was answering those calls that brought them here. It was a call that dragged them into this trap. Fear hadn't been enough! His skills weren't enough. Jim's foot nearly falls off the edge as Gunmar pushes him back again. Dropping down after his leg, Jim swings it back up behind the other. Body twisting, following his foot's lead, he turns sideways on the edge. Gunmar was now staring at empty space. Stone along his neck cracks as the beast slowly turns to face him. That same smug smile still on his face. It pisses Jim off.

"Run Jim!"

"We've got to get out of here!" Annoyance flicks his ears at the sound of Toby's plea. This wasn't him. The way he was fighting, how he was acting, it was stupid. Reckless. Blinky wouldn't be proud of this.

'Always be afraid Master Jim,' Blinky's voice's fills his ears. It drowns out the sound of clashing swords, the fear is Toby's pleas, the familiar stomping that was Aaarrrgghh!!! fighting the other trolls off. For one instant he could feel Blinky's hands on his shoulders. They turn him away. Open back to the monster who had stolen him away. A loose stone trips Jim. Dropping the eclipse blade he lets his body fall into a roll. Coming out of the roll, he braces himself. Ground shaking, Jim risks a glance back. There was Blinky. Smiling the very last time he ever will. He chose what expression he would wear for the rest of eternity. Guilt threatens to force him to turn back around. To run back into those open arms. They would not greet him the way he wants them too. There is no longer any life remaining here. Not in Blinky, and definitely not in the changeling hiding behind his statue.

Green eyes bid him a sad farewell as Jim stands again. Just as soon as he was on his feet again, there was a hand around his waist. Large, and steady it pulls the trollhunter away. Jim doesn't even try to fight it. Hoping for this all to be a nightmare Jim lets go. Closing his eyes he does one thing he has never done before. Silently Jim begs for this all to just be a nightmare. Even as the wind from the tunnel caresses his hair, and Toby climbs down from Aaarrrgghh!!!'s back to cuddle next to him in the hairy troll's arm. The back of his eyelids are bright. Bright in all the exact ways that cavern had been the darkest place he's ever seen.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the story!
> 
> If you're interested some fellow fans and myself are trying to make a fan musical for tales of Arcadia! We're looking for writers, voice actors, and artists of any skill level. As well as people who can play an instrument! Here's a link to take the survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTVvg-55LjgOz7S-E433ZTTeEen_uGtSI_zXBEpaX5N6UHbw/viewform?usp=sf_link


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